Headlines

All European eyes will be anxiously turned to Greece in the coming days, but Italian eyes are turned more anxiously than most, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Efforts by the Revenue to force indebted people pay VAT on advice to get themselves out of financial trouble have been rejected, the Irish Times reported. In what has been described as a landmark ruling has found that debt management services are not subject to VAT. Essentially, when people approached a debt management agency, Revenue was insisting that they be charge VAT at 23 per cent on the professional service fee charged by the debt agency to handle their case.

A 13 billion pound mortgage portfolio put up for sale by the "bad bank" charged with winding down the assets of two failed British lenders has lured interest from several possible bidders, the group's boss said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), which is selling off the loans of bailed-out Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, said in April it was selling the portfolio, named Granite, along with its mortgage servicing operations, aiming to speed up the repayment of taxpayers' money.

For much of this year, Spanish leaders have watched the crisis in Greece with a degree of serenity. Bolstered by the country’s economic recovery and shielded by European Central Bank bond-buying, Spain had seemed impervious to contagion from the Greek turmoil, the Financial Times reported. But since Monday that sense of safety has been thrown into question as investors focus less on Spain’s recent economic performance and more on what it — and countries such as Italy, Portugal and Ireland — have in common with Greece.

Brazilian power producer Eneva SA, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December, said on Tuesday it failed to meet a debt payment on June 15 after one of its creditors refused to postpone the maturity date, Reuters reported. The company, which is controlled by Germany's E.ON and fallen Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista, said in a statement the payments were linked to the Parnaiba II power project in the northeastern state of Maranhão, adding that negotiations with creditors were continuing. Eneva did not give a figure for the debt payment.

As Greece lurches toward climb-down or collision with its creditors, an exhausted population is bracing for more economic pain—either way, The Wall Street Journal reported. Panagiotis Koupalidis, a 68-year-old retiree, is supporting his wife as well as their three grown children, who lost their jobs in Greece’s depression, on a pension of €700 ($790) a month. That is just over half what it was before the austerity measures imposed by creditors as the condition for bailout loans. Now Mr.

The euro zone's body for dealing with failing banks said on Tuesday it was in close contact with Greek regulators as the country's banks face tough times. "Greek banks are living in a challenging economic environment,", Elke Koenig, chairman of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), told the European Parliament. "But the promising part of that is they have a very engaged and very active resolution team. We are in close contact with our Greek colleagues," she added.

Bakery chain Fornetti Romania, which has filed for insolvency in 2011, has fulfilled its obligations to the lenders, banks and partners included in the reorganization plan, according to its statement. The judicial administrators will propose closing the insolvency procedure in the next eight months, reports local Mediafax. The company estimates that it will increase its sales by 15% this year and will invest in modernize its stores. Last year, the bakery chain managed to stay on profit, and posted a EUR 22 million turnover. The company has 400 employees.

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, vowed not to give in to demands made by his country’s international creditors, accusing them of “pillaging” Greece for the past five years and insisting it was now up to them to propose a new rescue plan to save Athens from bankruptcy, the Financial Times reported. Mr Tsipras’ remarks came less than 24 hours after the collapse of last-ditch talks aimed at reaching agreement on the release of €7.2bn in desperately needed rescue funds.

A nasty consumer debt hangover awaits Thailand, as recently highlighted by EM Squared. Over the past decade, Thais have binged on auto financing and unsecured loans, to the extent that nominal household debt doubled between 2008 and 2014, and debt has reached 80 per cent of GDP*. Consumption growth has stalled, and neither consumers nor the country’s banks can stomach much more. Yet for many in Thailand, the situation is even more precarious than official figures suggest.